The Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts (known formerly as The Greater Hartford Academy of the Performing Arts or GHAPA) is an integrated magnet arts high school in Hartford, Connecticut. It is one of four schools located on the 16-acre (65,000Â m2) campus of The Learning Corridor.
"The Academy" is open through lottery to high school students in the state of Connecticut. The Capital Region Education Council (CREC) has managed the school since it was established in 1985.
History
The Academy was founded as a desegregation magnet school, and strives to maintain a student body that is balanced in terms of race and socioeconomic status. It was formed to give students artistic freedom without feeling judged by others.
In 2005 the Academy was selected by the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization to be the first high school in the United States to perform the long-running Broadway Musical Cats.
In December 2011 the Academy became the first high school to perform Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori's Caroline, or Change.
School
Initially, students submitted applications and were required to audition in their specific art form. This was the case up until only a few years ago.
Today, students are selected to attend the school based on lottery. Students can apply for the full day or the half day program, or both. Full day students take academic classes typical of a public high school in the morning, and take arts classes with the half day students in the afternoon. Half day students take academic classes at the high school in the town they live in (their home high school), and then join the full day students at the Academy in the afternoons for their arts classes.
Both full and half day students maintain a rigorous course load and schedule. For most students, their day starts at 7:30 AM and they are released from school at 4:15 PM, when they go home to do both academic and arts homework. Also, students have many opportunities at the Academy to participate in plays, musicals, and showcases throughout the year, which can require anywhere from weeks to months of after school rehearsals.
Since 2001 the Academy has been located at The Learning Corridor, a 16-acre (65,000Â m2) campus adjacent to Trinity College. Previously, it was housed in a former funeral parlor, with an annex that was a former bar. The Academy offers a curriculum in nine concentrations: Creative Writing & Media Arts, Visual Arts, Dance, Music Instrumental (Jazz or Classical), Music Vocal (Jazz or Classical), Theatre, Musical Theatre, and Technical Theatre (TD&P). Because of the new expansion of the school, there is now a second campus housed in the Colt Gateway building, located next to the old Colt gun factory. This building houses the students for their morning academics, and the theatre, musical theatre, and creative writing departments in the afternoon. The dance, technical theatre, music (both instrumental and vocal), and visual art departments are housed on the Learning Corridor campus.
Curriculum
Courses of study include:
- Creative Writing/Media Arts
- Visual Arts
- Dance
- Music Instrumental (Jazz or Classical)
- Music Vocal (Jazz or Classical)
- Theatre
- Musical Theatre
- Theatre Production and Design
Notable alumni
- Anita Antoinette
- Zaccai Curtis
- Christopher Larkin (actor)
References
External links
- The Learning Corridor
- Capital Region Education Council (CREC)
- Academy information from the Learning Corridor
- Academy information from CREC
- Coeyman, Marjorie. Using the Arts to Attract a Diverse Student Body, The Christian Science Monitor, June 23, 1998.